True-Sport-Report

The National Association for Sport and Physical
Education 89 has concluded that:
The most effective sport development
and training programs around the world
discourage year-round specialization in a
single organized sport and, generally, use
cross-training methods to develop a full
range of skills to prepare young people for
specialization at age 15 and older. Exceptions
occur only in sports with judging criteria
that favor the flexibility and artistic lines
of prepubescent bodies, even though those
criteria encourage forms of training that
jeopardize athletes’ long-term health and
well-being…. Developing positive identities
requires a diversity of experiences and relationships
during childhood and adolescence,
and participating in multiple sports increases
experiences and relationships with peers and
authority figures in ways that prepare young
people for lifelong enjoyment of sports and
engaged citizenship (pp. 3-4).
“Talent development” is the term often used for
identifying promising athletes and guiding their
development and advancement in a given sport.
Studies have shown that talent identification
cannot be achieved by discrete measures such as
one-time try-outs, but rather must be viewed over
longer periods as the athlete grows and develops. 90
Magill and Anderson 91 and Sage 92 have conducted
motor learning research that found that initial
proficiency in a motor skill has little relation to
later performance. Early mastery pays a dividend
for a while, but then others catch up. Because tryouts
typically lead to “cuts” from the team, many
young athletes are denied the opportunity to grow
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